Get featured in Detroit Free Press

To get featured in the Detroit Free Press, you either give one of its reporters a story worth covering, submit an opinion piece or letter that its opinion editors choose to run, or have a feature developed and placed with professional help. Whichever route you take, the story needs a genuine Detroit or Michigan angle, because that is what the paper exists to cover.

Pitching the newsroom yourself is free, but it is slow and the editors decide what runs. DNA offers another way in: we develop the story with you, write it to the Free Press standard, manage the placement, and you approve every word before it goes live.

What the Detroit Free Press is

The Detroit Free Press is Detroit's long-established daily newspaper, widely known as the Freep. It is owned by Gannett and sits within the USA TODAY Network, which links it to local titles across the country and to the national paper. It has long shared business operations with The Detroit News under a joint operating agreement, while the two newsrooms stay separate and compete for stories. Its reporting has been recognised with Pulitzer Prizes.

What the Detroit Free Press covers

The site is built around local news for Detroit and its suburbs, Michigan politics and government, business, and a large body of auto industry reporting that follows the carmakers, their suppliers and the workers who depend on them. Sport is a major draw, with close coverage of the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons alongside Michigan and Michigan State college teams. It also covers food and dining, entertainment, health, opinion and obituaries.

How to get featured in the Detroit Free Press

For news coverage, the practical route is to identify the reporter who covers your subject, read what they have written recently, and send a short, specific note with the facts and the local reason to care. The paper lists ways to contact its newsroom on its site, and bylines make it clear who covers which beat. A pitch that names Michigan people, places and consequences will travel further than a general press release.

Be realistic about the bar: the newsroom covers what it judges newsworthy, and no form turns a company announcement into a story.

How to submit an op-ed to the Detroit Free Press

The Free Press runs opinion pieces and letters from readers alongside its own editorials and columnists. Its opinion desk accepts op-ed and letter submissions through the route listed on its site, and that page sets out the current requirements, so read it before you send anything. In general terms, a strong submission:

• Makes one clear argument about a Detroit or Michigan issue that is in the news.
• Comes from someone with real expertise in, or direct experience of, the subject.
• Is a finished piece rather than an idea pitch, written for a general reader.
• Is offered to the Free Press alone rather than sent to several outlets at once.

How to submit an event to the Detroit Free Press

Event listings are a different thing from news coverage. If you want a concert, opening, fundraiser or community event listed, use the events or listings route the Free Press provides on its site rather than emailing reporters. If the event is genuinely newsworthy, a separate, short pitch to the reporter who covers that area is the way to seek a story about it.

What makes a strong piece for the Free Press

Local relevance is the first test. A founder on what a shift in vehicle production means for suppliers in southeast Michigan, a physician on a public health issue in the state, or a restaurant owner explaining a change in a Detroit neighbourhood all fit. Strong pieces carry named people, local detail and good timing. For a sense of how national stories are shaped differently, see the guide to USA Today, which sits in the same network as the Free Press.

How the process works

With DNA, the work runs in four steps. We check whether your story has a real Detroit or Michigan angle and tell you plainly if it does not. You share the substance: what you do, what has changed and why it matters locally. We draft the feature to the Free Press standard and revise it with you. Once you approve every word, we manage the placement and send you the live link.

How long it takes

Expect weeks rather than days. The angle, the drafting, your review and the placement all take time.